Course Selection

We understand that choosing courses can be an overwhelming experience, so keep in mind you will have the opportunity to change your initial selections after meeting with your faculty advisor during orientation.  Plan on a thorough discussion with your advisor and be open to revising your choices. 

Guidelines for Selecting Courses

First-year students should select a total of four 4-credit courses (16 credits) and optionally add a 1- or 2-credit course (e.g., dance, piano, concert choir).

  • Take a first-year seminar in the fall or spring. (More information below.)
  • Take a course each semester in a subject you like and have studied successfully in the past. (See list of departments and programs below.)
  • Take a course each semester in a completely new subject.
  • Take at least two courses that will meet distribution or College requirements.
  • Take a physical education course (PE) in your first year. A total of six PE units are required to graduate. PE units are not counted as academic credits.
  • If you think you may want to study abroad in a language other than English (particularly in the case of French, German, or Spanish), register for a course in that language in your first semester. Most study abroad programs taught in those languages require a minimum of four college semesters of language study.
  • Spread out your courses reasonably throughout the day and the week. Balance your course work with co-curricular activities, community service, and exercise. (The Class Schedule Worksheet is a useful tool.)
  • Especially in the first semester, credit overloads (20 or more credits) are strongly discouraged. Students who wish to request a credit overload must receive permission after arriving on-campus in the fall or spring.  The permission process requires students to complete a Request for Excess Credits, consult with their faculty advisor, and then meet with the dean of first-year studies.   
  • Select courses offered only at Mount Holyoke in your first semester. Ordinarily, first-year students are not permitted to take a Five College course in their first semester. If you have a compelling reason to take a Five College course, you must apply to the dean of first-year studies for special permission.

First-Year Seminars

We encourage you to take a first-year seminar during your first semester at Mount Holyoke. The first-year seminar program introduces students to the idea of the liberal arts. At the center of the program are the courses themselves. These 4-credit courses are small, usually limited to entering students, and designed to teach college-level thinking, writing and discussion. Most of the seminars are also structured to demonstrate connections between the disciplines. Many seminars are writing-intensive and also fulfill a distribution requirement.

In choosing a first-year seminar, we recommend that you pick a topic that is not directly related to the subject in which you plan to major. It is best to think of this as an opportunity to broaden your education, so pick a course which is something about which you have always wondered, but never had the opportunity to explore.

Students are limited to registering for a single first-year seminar in each term. If you are interested in a second and a space in that class remains available in the first week of the term, please discuss with your advisor the academic wisdom of committing to a second seminar. If still interested, write the instructor of the second seminar to ask if she or he will authorize the Registrar to register you for the class.

The program as a whole also includes a lecture series which will introduce first-year students to a wide array of interesting topics. The lecturers in this series are among the best at Mount Holyoke and the topics are things about which all educated people should know regardless of their major.

Detailed descriptions of first-year seminars are listed on ISIS.

Department and Program Course Offerings

Click on the links below to browse department and program course offerings, including recommended courses for first-year students. For full course descriptions, including whether a course meets a distribution requirement, view the course listing on ISIS.